CHICAGO — A few moments after absorbing the worst beating they’ve taken since the third week of April, the Rangers were quick to say Sunday’s 10-0 road-trip ending loss was not a product of the hard road they traveled over the last 10 days.

Good for them.

Because if the last 10 days were a tough test, just wait until they get a load of the next week.

Having just completed 10 road games in 10 days — something they haven’t encountered this season — the Rangers still have miles to go before they rest. The coming week brings four games against Boston, challenging for the AL East title and the best record in the league, and three with the Los Angeles Angels, who aren’t going away in the AL West race.

“There is a reason they call this the dog days of the season,” said manager Ron Washington. “When you are going down the stretch, they are all tough. But you figure out a way to get through it. This past week was tough. The next one is, too.”

All in all, the Rangers did pretty well on their road trip, going 7-3 and netting a gain of two games in the West race on the Angels. With no off-day, though, the tough run is more of a 17-day marathon. In that regard, it looked like their hectic schedule may have caught up with them over the final 72 hours.

It started with a 2-1 walk-off loss Thursday at Los Angeles. The Rangers were three outs away from building the lead to eight games, when the bullpen suffered a letdown. That led to an overnight flight to Chicago and a 6:30 a.m. arrival Friday. And then they had a short turnaround from Saturday night’s game to Sunday afternoon.

That all seemed to add up to a tired team. Over the final two games, the Rangers managed 12 hits and two runs. They went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, were shut out Sunday for the first time in a month and the 10-run defeat was the second biggest margin to a 15-4 shellacking by Los Angeles on April 19.

On the mound Sunday, Derek Holland slipped back into a nasty old habit of failing to put innings away after getting to two outs. The White Sox went 4-for-7 against him with two outs in the first three innings. He was pulled before giving them another two-out shot in the fourth. Holland is allowing hitters a .306 average with two outs this year, third highest among AL starters.

The Rangers insisted the trip did not fatigue them or impact their play. They gave credit to Chicago pitchers John Danks on Saturday and Gavin Floyd on Sunday.

“We are used to this,” said third baseman Michael Young. “This is not new to us. Our getaway games are always night games and that leads to late arrivals.”

Except that the ending to this trip really did combine unique circumstances.

Start with 10 games in 10 days. The final leg of a three-city trip always tests the boundaries of players’ stamina. And the Rangers haven’t really encountered this kind of schedule since they became legitimate contenders. The only 10-day, 10-game road trip last year was the last of the season. That was an easier jaunt up and down the West Coast. It also began with the Rangers holding a 10-game lead. And by the ninth day, the Rangers had clinched the West, making the final day — and the homestand that followed — meaningless.

On top of that were the rigors of the last leg. According to the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the Players Association, teams may not be asked to travel more than two time zones between stops without getting an off day. Going from Los Angeles to Chicago is about the farthest a team could possibly travel without relief.

And now come seven really big games that could vault the Rangers into legitimate contention for home field advantage in the playoffs or, if things go wrong, it could create a wild sprint in September for the West title. Between the ninth inning Thursday and Sunday afternoon, the Rangers saw their lead slip from the cusp of eight games, down to four thanks to a pair of Los Angeles walk-off wins.

“I think we played extremely well on the trip,” Young said. “Things didn’t go our way today. We’ll make our adjustments and be ready tomorrow.”

Catch Evan Grant all season on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310) at 9:35 a.m. Tuesdays with The Musers and 4:50 p.m. Wednesdays with The Hardline.

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